Tristan Ahtone

Tristan Ahtone is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He’s also German and English and a few other dashes of Euro-mix (just to make things more interesting). Before becoming a reporter, Tristan held a number of exciting jobs, such as door-to-door salesman, delivery driver, telemarketer, air-conditioning repairman, secretary, janitor, busboy, and office clerk to name a few.

In 2006, Tristan graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. In 2008, he received a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from the Columbia School of Journalism. After graduating with a masters in journalism Tristan worked with The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, National Native News, Frontline and NPR. Then the recession came and he moved to Hong Kong to teach English for a year, returned to New Mexico to teach a journalism course, and finally arrived at Wyoming Public Radio in August of 2010.

In his spare time, Tristan enjoys watching films, exotic travel, good food and strong drink - but dislikes going to bed, getting up, or being left alone, as he tends to get in trouble.

Uranium resin that Uranerz Energy Corporation is producing in the Powder River Basin by will now be turned to yellowcake by Cameco Resources – a subsidiary of the nation’s largest, publicly traded uranium company.

The agreement between the two companies was announced this week.

Derrick Iwanaka is a Uranerz spokesperson. He says the yellowcake will eventually be turned into fuel rods and sold to utility companies for nuclear power plants.

Many of today’s technologies are possible because of a special mineral group called rare earth elements. Currently, China produces about 97-percent of all rare earths consumed, but a global race is underway to produce more. The recent discovery of rare earths in the northwest corner of the state may make Wyoming a major player, and plans for a proposed processing plant may change the game even more for producers and consumers.

In early November, a Texas-based company called Legacy Reserves LP announced that it would purchase oil and gas properties in Fremont County: primarily properties owned by Encana in the Pavillion area. Late last week, Legacy Reserves pulled out of the deal.

Officials at Sheridan Memorial Hospital have been notified that the hospital could be downgraded from a tier one hospital to tier two by the Wyoming School Board Association Insurance Trust otherwise known as WSBAIT. The rating does not reflect the level of service provided by Sheridan Memorial, but rather reflects that educators covered by WSBAIT will now have to pay more out of pocket for services at the hospital than to hospitals rated tier one by the trust.

On January 17th, Joe Schaffer will become the new president of Laramie County Community College.

On Wednesday, the college's board of trustees unanimously voted to appoint Schaffer to the position. LCCC's Public Relations Director Lisa Murphy says the new partnership will help the college to continue moving forward.

"Dr. Schaffer is going to bring a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of intelligence. He knows the academic world, he knows the communication world, and he also knows how to integrate into the community."

In 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency launched an investigation in the Pavillion area after residents complained of health problems and changes in the odor, taste and color of their well water. Last night, the EPA released new data from deep monitoring wells in the area.

Over the years, Pavillion residents have complained about health problems, which they blame on oil and gas development in the area. Governor Matt Mead says he's keeping an eye on what happens at a public meeting over the situation tonight.

"I think everyone should be rightfully concerned about the Pavillion issue because we're not sure what's been going on out there," Mead said. "I know the EPA today is going to release some additional data that we're going to be eager to take a look at hopefully before any big conclusions are drawn one way or another."

Big game hunting is big business here in Wyoming, and almost nothing is off limits to hunters, ranging from bison to mountain lions to moose. But a dramatic drop in the state’s moose population is hurting people who make a living from big game. Wyoming Public Radio’s Tristan Ahtone reports the reasons for the decline are complicated.

Over the years, Pavillion residents have complained about health problems, which they blame on oil and gas development in the area. Governor Matt Mead says he's keeping an eye on what happens at a public meeting over the situation tonight.

"I think everyone should be rightfully concerned about the Pavillion issue because we're not sure what's been going on out there," Mead said. "I know the EPA today is going to release some additional data that we're going to be eager to take a look at hopefully before any big conclusions are drawn one way or another."

Listen to story When it comes to water, Wyoming law has always been simple: whoever gets to the water first gets to use it. However, things start to get complicated when you add tribal water rights holders to the mix… and downright contentious when those tribes hope to use the resource for something other than agriculture. Wyoming Public Radio's Tristan Ahtone reports.

Residents of the town of Pavillion say a company called Legacy Reserves LP has entered an agreement to purchase natural gas properties in the area from the current owner, Encana.

Representatives from Legacy Reserves did not return calls to confirm the sale, but according to their website, the Midland, Texas-based company will purchase several properties in Freemont County, where Pavillion is located, for 45-million dollars.

A locally produced documentary on the state’s juvenile justice system will air on Wyoming PBS this Sunday.

Marc Homer is the kid’s count director at the Wyoming Children’s Action Alliance, and director of the film “Your Neighbor's Child”. He says the film, which was originally released a year ago, is aimed at spurring change in the state. But Homer says Wyoming still has the highest rate of juvenile incarceration in the U-S.

University of Wyoming scientists say average temperatures in the state have risen three degrees over the last 30 years. And that could be attributed to greenhouses gasses caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the clearing of forests.

Last year, the Department of Energy released well monitoring data from the Wind River Reservation. What they found was that uranium levels in a number of their wells had spiked up to 100 times the legal limit. But while the data points to the fact that there may be a serious problem with the area, it's nothing new: residents in the area have been complaining of health problems for years, and now both the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes, as well as a truckload of other federal agencies, are trying to figure out what's going on, and what to do next.